By BILL CAMPBELL

HE pioneers of the labor
movement in this and
other lands rarely kept

quiet about socialism.

All those years ago, when
capitalism was by no means as
ripe for change as today, these
bold men and women were very
much “all alone.” Not even one
part of the world had proved in
practice that capitalism could

-be replaced with another sys-

tem. Yet, socialist ideas and
directions of one kind and an-
other glowed like a warming
fire through practically all their
activities.

In later years it has some-
times been the fashion to. show,
often very learnedly, that some
of their ideas were “off centre.”
And, certainly, such criticism is,
justified and necessary in ex-
posing general tendencies which
history has cast aside as im-
practical. —

That’s one thing. But it is
quite another to so emphasize
their ‘failures’ as to stop

‘thinking along socialist lines

altogether. To get so wrapped
up in the complicated and seem-
ingly countless day-to-day bat-
tles of our own times that, lack-
ing a socialist purpose, we “run
hard on the same spot.”

And this means, not only are
the prospects for a_ socialist
Canada made more distant. It
means that every skirmish with
capital becomes a “deal”—an
accommodation — with it, and
even the victories thus won
by labor are something far less
than possible at the time, for
they lead nowhere. The power
of canital, the cause of all the
trouble, remains as firmly in the
saddle as ever.

Before we discuss how a so-
Cialist direction may be revived
and given an _all-pervading

_ place in our modern labor move-

ment, let us say first, however
commonplace to some, just
what is meant, by - socialism.

Let it be stated that social-
ism is the ~social system -that
arises from and comes after
capitalism, as capitalism in its
tum came after seemingly
“everlasting” feudalism.

That it is a social system
whereby the ownership of the
basic means of producing the
necessities of life for the people
passes from the present (capi-
talist) owners to the people
themselves.

It is a social change besides
which all other such changes
experienced since. Canada was
formed as a nation will seem
small indeed — though certain-
ly not irrelevent.

Of course, socialism has a
great many other aspects than
these but to pretend, or hope
for, anything less than these
qualities is to leave it off the
agenda altogether.

It could truthfully be said
that nothing could be better for
the overwhelming majority of
the people of our country right
now than a socialist Canada.

POINT OF VIEW

socialist direction

There could be no better posi-
tion from which to solve the
problems of peace and war, na-
tional independence, the cost of
living etc.

After all, the solving of deep
social problems is the fundamen-
tal reason why any country
takes the socialist path.

But right now we have a
capitalist Canada.

To ignore this unpleasant fact

to us for, as the tin can tied to
the tail of the American alley-
cat who is basically in greater
disarray, we nevertheless get
the pounding first.
Consequently, at the present
time, the first moves the Can-
adian people must make to-
wards socialism have to be
fought out and won in the arena
of true national independence.
The question might well be

It beomes, really, a series of
steps which, as. each one is
taken, so alters the class
forces as to increasingly give
greater power to the people to-
ward their ultimate goal.
Realizing the limitations of
comparing events in other coun-
tries with those in our own, the
present position of Britain can
surely be of great value to us
in understanding what socialist

A socialist direction does not mean just propa-
ganda for socialism — or promises. It means taking
advantage of every happ2ning, to lay the founda-
tions for a fundamental change in society.

is to live in some dream-world.
More, it is a position that ends
up refusing to accept that so-
cialism has to be won, not on
some bright morning on distant
barricades but within each day
of our lives previous to that
“bright morning.”

Our future socialist country
will inevitably reflect ail the
peculiarities of our own past
and only -be like other socialist
countries in the one major as-
pect of the people’s ownership
and control of the productive
forces.

So, too, the actions that have
to be carried through now must
take into account current Can-
adian realities.

-And what is the chief Can-
adian reality today?

First and foremost, and
spreading like some filthy fun-
gus, is our relationship with
those in the USA who rule that
unhappy land.

It is hard to think of any as-
pect. of Canadian life and liv-
ing that this relationship does
not despoil—and harder still for
many millions of Canadians to

“be coldly objective about this.

This subjective relationship is
aggravated by the fact that
these U.S. rulers—this_ tight-
knit group of owners—are so
powerful that Hitler and his
backers in their hey-day would
have envied them.

Social and economic chaos in
Canada is very much part of
this whole set-up for we are one
of the USA’s “possessions” of
a special kind. Of a raw ma-
terial-supplying kind, a geogra-
phical-military kind and, to the
shame of us all in the world’s
eyes, a kind of an international
gangster’s public relations out-
fit.

And it is precisely in these
areas of manufacturing and
military adventures and _ inter-
national relationship that the
USA, as the leading capitalist
power in the world, is finding
operations most difficult.

The immediacy of the results
of this chaos is brought home

February 17, 1967—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 10

‘

asked whether a true socialist
direction is really necessary to
break the throttling grip of the
U.S. rulers? Isn’t it possible,
using arguments to do with
“our great natural resoures” and
“our fine democratic traditions”
and ‘our high productivity
rate,” to win this battle for in-
dependence and still retain our
present “way of life,’ capi-
talism?

It is one thing to try and
answer questions posed within
their own, pre-set, narrow as-
sumptions. Quite another to
find answers when the question
really exists in a far wider field.
It could be asserted that if a
man can swim he won’t drown.
Reality, however, insists that
first we must know where and
under what total conditions he
has to swim.

First, then, let us be quite
clear that the position is not
that of saying that immediate
problems, (including this prime
one of national independence),
cannot be solved within a capi-
talist Canada. On the contrary,
these must be put first on the
order of the day for if not a so-
ialist Canada will be pushed
further away.

In other words, it is direc-
tions we are talking about, not
trying to create or sponsor im-
mediately impossible utopias.
Utopias are born in the minds
of either fools, cowards or
charlatans and this is where
they will forever remain.

A direction — a socialist di-
rection — is not a matter of
“preaching” socialism on all
and every occasion, of carrot-
dangling to the “unenlightened.”
(Though a proper study of the
socialist application in the fu-
ture to this, our own, country,
with participation open to all
shades of progressive people, is
something else again.)

Rather, this direction is some-
thing that must permeate, quali-
fy and become the only basic
reason why and how every
action is taken by the left
forces today and tomorrow.

directions are, (and what hap-
pens when they are absent!)

Britain is a country that is in
the throes of economic and po-
litical disaster. No amount of
laurel-leaning can erase this
gruesome fact.

How cid Britain get in this
state? How come that this coun-
try is now officially pursuing a
policy of wage-cuts to capital-
ize and maintain the overseas’
investments, (military and
otherwise), of the big indus-
trialists? How. come they are in
the humiliating position, for all
the world to see, of kowtowing
to their former fascist enemies
—the murderous bunch of ex-
nazis who are at present run-
ning West Germany? (That
their queen was instructed to
pin English medals on the up-
per bellies of many a one-time
death camp organizer a year
or so ago merely put the seal
of approval on this relation-
ship.)

Is anybody over there, short
of some lunatic fringe, happy
about following the. “guide-
lines’’ of constitutional support
for America’s inhumane role
in Vietnam? =

More than this, and fouling
everything like congealed oil
washed onto the beach, how in
the name of everything we’ve
been told about “labor’’ has all
this happened under a hun-
dred- majority labor govern-
ment?

It would be far too easy to

assume that Wilson,
Co. were “crooks”
start. That they are 4
British-style C.LA.,
tools of the establ
placed there at the PF
for wrecking purposes:
True as it may be
British Labor cabinet

ne

-have not carried out the

of the British and Amel!
perialists better if 1!
tried, this could hatdl
been their intent. A?
they have been slither!
the slope for some time
crisis after crisis. ©%
making their doom tha
certain, why haven't they
a halt to this suicida
before now? They have
ly had the power to 40 .
the guarantee of the mos"
spread, popular supP®
given a peacetime Bril™
ernment, “
As the song says.
sWer, my friend, is DIM,
the wind”. The answer
the direction these 4b?
ers have been fannite
wind. More to the pod
their deep-rooted refusal
done no more than vet i
it in a socialist dive
some vote-catching be!
Now, even the words *
sing. ;
To repeat, socialist di
do not mean just Pf
for socialism—or prom®.
It means now, this
all the time, whatevel
cumstance, in govertl,

out, taking advantage Od 1

happening, to lay thé
tions for a fundamental 4
in society. e
These ‘happenings’ fy
Canada are the int
wide actions that mill i
our people have taken 7
last year or so to try ad
their immediate econo” —
social problems. Be |
A new militancy 5",
those participating ove
very diverse objectivé
been the outstanding 4
these actions. =
Aside from opinion 9
what can and cannot Pty
ed under capitalism, ~ jij
tions are still the
points. a
At least, they could oa
Linked. with each °%
given a deliberate soc
pose—why, isn’t this T°)
we'll start building ae
that leads to a new

“Which is the boy and which the girl?” —
“We'll find out in a minute.”

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